Jon Bennett and Erin McCoy are two of the shrewdest strategists on Wall Street and close friends of the president of the United States. Their secret project: a billion-dollar oil deal off the coast of Tel Aviv and Gaza that could form the basis of a historic peace treaty and bring enormous wealth to every Israeli and Palestinian. But nothing has prepared Jon or Erin for the terror that lies ahead.

The book that started it all, The Last Jihad is the first of Joel C. Rosenberg's New York Times best-selling series, with 500,000 in print. The first page puts readers in the cockpit of a hijacked jet on a kamikaze mission into an American city—but it was written nine months before 9/11/01. As the plot unfolds, White House advisors Jon Bennett and Erin McCoy are under attack in Jerusalem as the U.S. goes to war with Iraq over weapons of mass destruction—but The Last Jihad was published four months before the actual Iraq war began.

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One of the interesting things about it is that it proves evangelical Christians can write international thrillers and get published by New York publishers if their stories are strong enough. And this one is. Rosenberg, not really a Washington "insider," nevertheless either knows enough about Beltway affairs or has done his research sufficiently to render the world of Washington in all its tawdry splender very effectively.

The author also writes quite astonishing action scenes, e.g., the opening sequence where a Gulfstream G4 crashes into the President's limo, the shootout in the former top Mossad agent's house in Jerusalem, and the sniper sequence prior to the memorial service for the secret service agents.

Not everything works optimally. I felt the main character's expertise--the ability to see patterns in the most obscure details, put them together, and forcast events--could've been more effectively used in the last half of the book. Also, there's not a whole lot of chemistry between the hero and his purported love interest.

But these are quibbles. All in all, it's a fine effort.

49 of 53 found the following review helpful:

Put your To-Do List AwayNov 21, 2002
By Liz
All other items on your to-do list will have to wait once you being this book. Don't be surprised if you find yourself engrossed from the very beginning..and hold on to your socks from there. No matter what your stance is on terrorism and war in the Middle East you need to read it.

47 of 51 found the following review helpful:

What a Page Turner!Dec 03, 2002
By Mark Roberts
OK... You can't judge a book by it's cover, right? But, with all of the positive comments that were on the book's cover it had to be good.

Actually, it was better! I literally could not put the book down. I got it just before Thanksgiving and finished it with in 3 days.

The plot is quite involved. Just when you think you have things figured out, there's a new twist. I don't want to give details of the plot as it will ruin the surprise of discovering the twists: just know they are there and that it makes for a fun read. One of the things that I liked about the main plot was it was so believeable. In fact, I heard about this book while watching the author, Joel C. Rosenberg interviewed on Hannity and Colmes. I heard Joel say that while writing the book, 9-11 hit and he had to do some adjusting to the plot due to how real his initial premise was to what had just occurred.

The characters become your friends, just as in any good book. I liked the character development, much like a Tom Clancy novel, in that the reader seems to be drawn into a world of reality that most of us only see from the outside. How do they set up security boundaries for Presidential motorcades? How do they draw information out of a suspect that may be reluctant to talk? I have wondered about that very thing while hearing of some of the information drawn out of the actual Taliban prisoners held in Cuba. How do they get these "loyal" Taliban top aides to talk? I got an idea of how it might be done in Chapter 5...

All in all this was one terrific read. If the first chapter doesn't get you hooked, then have a Urologist check out your adrenal glands. For the rest of us, lay off the caffeine. This book is a good substitute.

My only complaint: It'll take Joel C. Rosenberg at least a couple of years to pound out another book...

39 of 43 found the following review helpful:

Spell-Binding Political Thriller!Dec 11, 2002
By David R. Bess
I don't normally read fiction, but this book has been getting so much press that I decided to explore it for myself. After the first few pages I was spell-bound -- I could hardly put the thing down! Rosenberg has a smash hit on his hands, and I, like many other readers, am eager to read a sequel.

This work could be described as a combination of a Tom Clancy novel and a Jenkins/LaHaye "Left Behind" volume. Global crises, military action, political intrigue, compelling characters, and a conservative, Christian mindset are all present in this book. The Christian aspect by no means dominates, but as a Baptist minister I quickly noticed the two or three times it surfaced and was pleasantly surprised.

Perhaps the most appealing characteristic of this fictional, future tale is its closeness to present-day reality. With the current war on terrorism, the escalation of tension between the United States and Iraq, and the development of military and communications technology, the scenario described here could very well happen.

I recommend this book very highly to anyone enjoying a good fictional read. The narrative consistently moves along at a rapid pace, never once dragging. Order it, read it, and see for yourself!

19 of 20 found the following review helpful:

A fresh, timely story makes for an admirable debutJan 05, 2003
By Jon Eric Davidson
With the U.S. and Iraq engaged in a showdown, and the possibility of a war that could see the horrific use of weapons of mass destruction, Joel Rosenberg writes "The Last Jihad", a thriller that none-too-subtly reminds the public what the price may be for not taking out Saddam Hussein.

For a debut in the world of fiction, Mr. Rosenberg has done admirably well. He takes advantage of a plot that is made all the more timely by real-life current events, and has crafted a fast-paced, intriguing thriller. The action starts off almost immediately, with an attempted attack on the presidential motorcade using a Gulfstream jet. It doesn't take much time to finger Iraq as the perpetrator, and so events roll from there, as an Israeli commando operation reveals Iraq's nuclear capacity. The Israelis give the U.S. one hour to take action before they fire a nuke on Iraq. The story catapults the reader through diplomatic, military, and personal machinations that culminate in nuclear weapons being unleashed.

The bulk of "The Last Jihad" focuses on the character of Jon Bennett, a well-to-do financial strategist-turned-presidential aide. Not much time is spent fleshing out the character beyond his business career - serving to provide insight into the gas-oil deal that is brought into the story as a potential peace plan capstone between the Arabs and Israel. This is a mixed blessing; while the lack of character background and development allows the reader (and author) to stay focused on the plot, the downside is that the reader doesn't care as much what happens to the character, in that the character remains distant. So, in terms of the primal "rooting for the good guy", there is no impetus for wanting to root for the Jon Bennett character. If Mr. Rosenberg intends to write other fiction, and, more importantly, wants to make Jon Bennett the literary second coming of Jack Ryan, he will need to improve upon this aspect of storytelling.

The character development - or lack of it - in regards to the President McPherson character in this story is interesting as well. The reader probably learns more about him than the Jon Bennett character, and are exposed to more of the emotional rationales behind his actions in the nuclear politics he engages in. I never could figure out if Mr. Rosenberg intended for President McPherson to be a Reagan-esque character in terms of determination and resolve. To me, this character had a strong Nixonian trait about him that made him one not to particularly like one way or the other.

The bulk of the story revolves around the political and diplomatic happenings, demonstrating Mr. Rosenberg's obvious depth-of-knowledge and strength in this arena. The military descriptions and story threads are less descriptive and very basic, perhaps showing that Mr. Rosenberg is not well-versed in this area. It doesn't hurt him in terms of "The Last Jihad", but again, if he is to write follow-up books, he will need to expand upon his knowledge here.

As with any first-time author, there are a few threads in the story that - overtly or not - are left hanging. There seemed to be a couple of little pieces here and there that could have been tied back in to the main plot, but weren't. However, these were not omissions that took anything significant away from the overall quality of the story.

The main "agenda", if you will, that Mr. Rosenberg seems to be not-so-subtly pushing in this book is that of having to deal with Saddam Hussein at once. One cannot help but ignore that he advocates removal of Hussein before he strikes out in some way at Israel, the U.S., or another ally. This message becomes more evident as the plot unfolds. As it pertains to current events in early 2003, this works just fine. When the time comes that Saddam Hussein is removed from power - and when Iraq is not as large a focus on the national consciousness as it is now - this message may not play as well.

Readers with Democrat/liberal leanings may pick up this book and be turned off by the rave reviews found on the jacket from the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Steve Forbes. They may also be turned off somewhat by the obvious conservative bent in political discussions in the story. But, if those readers are that hung up on politics, they would be well-served to avoid this book. But for those who can set political leanings aside, this book will be well worth the time.

Outside of a few very minor glitches and the character aspects noted above, "The Last Jihad" is an outstanding debut for Mr. Rosenberg. He has crafted a great story that has fantastic pacing, and takes the political thriller in an exciting new direction. This reader hopes that he will write again.

I give "The Last Jihad" four stars, and heartily recommend it all except those who are irritated by the reviews of conservative media figures and politicians, since they will not get past that and enjoy what is a very good story.

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